☕️ Azam Baki: Days are numbered - King to appoint new MACC chief, "Tangkap Azam Baki" rally

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

USD1.3 mil (RM5.14 mil) per day on average from an online game – Following a data leak from a cybersecurity breach at Rockstar Games, a major video game publisher and developer, it was revealed that Grand Theft Auto Online, a multiplayer version of the series’ fifth major instalment, pulled in over USD1 mil (RM3.96 mil) a day in revenue for the company. The online component of Grand Theft Auto V is estimated to generate around USD498.8 mil annually, with most of the takings coming from microtransactions by players on the PlayStation 5 platform. The long-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 is scheduled to be released in Nov this year. See here for the numbers compared to another Rockstar title, Red Dead Online.

Turning EUR100 (RM465.56) into more than EUR1 mil – Engineer and art enthusiast Ari Hodara won an original Pablo Picasso painting worth more than EUR1 mil after purchasing a raffle ticket for EUR100. The painting he won was “Tête de Femme”, a portrait of Picasso’s partner and muse, in his signature style. Hodara was notified of his win via a video call from Christie’s auction house in Paris, and initially suspected it to be a hoax. He bought a ticket after learning about the raffle by chance. The competition was the third edition of the “1 Picasso for EUR100” fundraising raffle. The initiative was founded in 2013. Organisers reported that more than 120,000 tickets were sold, which raised around EUR11 mil for Alzheimer’s research. Check out the painting here.

RM750,000 for a number plate – Road Transport Department runner Muhammad Saffwan Muhammad Lotpy is asking RM750,000 for his Aveta DY 115 motorcycle. However, most of the value comes from the bike’s number plate. It carries the rare “PM 2” registration number, which is highly coveted and among the most desirable combinations on the market. The 37-year-old said the market price for that number starts from RM700,000, while the “PM 1” registration number could exceed RM1 mil. By the way, the original market price for the motorcycle alone is between RM3,988 and RM4,088.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Azam Baki will not be the future MACC Chief Commissioner
Malaysia’s King, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, announced that he will appoint a new MACC chief, further signalling that the current chief will not have his term extended. Recently, Azam Baki was in hot water after allegedly owning shares (directly and indirectly) in a financial services firm exceeding the allowed limit for public officials. Azam was also accused of being part of the ‘Corporate Mafia’, a group of businessmen working with MACC officials to intimidate executives and oust them from companies. Azam Baki’s one-year term is due to end on May 12. The MACC chief commissioner is chosen by the King on the advice of the prime minister. A “Tangkap Azam Baki” rally organised by Bersih takes place this Saturday at Dataran Merdeka - that is, if you are looking for something to do over the weekend.

Malaysia is a global transit hub - for drugs
Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay stated that the country is still struggling to put a lid on drug trafficking, especially as the country is one of the international drug transit hubs where drugs travel from the Golden Triangle up north to the rest of the world. Malaysia is not a producing country, but a transit point, although a small portion is also consumed domestically. The value of drugs seized alone stands at RM3.1 bil. If only 1% of drugs trafficked are seized, the market for illegal drugs is huge. Ayob Khan said syndicates primarily use sea and land routes in the northern part of the peninsula, while routes to Sabah and Sarawak involve both sea and air, including arrests at airports.

No new or expanded non-Muslim houses of worship in the Federal Territories
Federal Territories Minister Hannah Yeoh said that no new construction and expansion of non-Muslim houses of worship (Ribi) on government land in the Federal Territories will be allowed. This decision was made after the matter was discussed during the Ribi committee meeting of the Federal Territories. Based on the mapping developed by the Federal Territories Department, a total of 163 unauthorised Ribi structures have been identified on government land to date.

Business
After fending off a takeover, IJM Corp now intends to list its construction business
IJM Corporation Bhd, which is a publicly listed company with a share price of RM2.35 at the time of writing, plans to list its construction division as a separate entity. The framework for a listing of a pure-play construction unit is expected to be finalised within the next two months. Once set, the listing would carry a 12-month timeline. Meanwhile, the plan for a potential listing or business trust of local toll assets, excluding the West Coast Expressway, may take longer as it requires approval from authorities over concession ownership.

Sleepy town hosting a sleeping giant?
Gebeng, Pahang, not only houses oil and gas facilities but is also home to Lynas, one of the few rare earth processing facilities in the Asia-Pacific region outside China. Lynas, an Australian-based company, is looking to increase its global market share, which stands at about 10% in a market overwhelmingly dominated by Chinese players. And interestingly, the company chose Malaysia, particularly a sleepy town in Pahang called Gebeng, as its sole facility outside its home base in Australia. Since 2012, the facility has been refining pure metals from raw materials mined in Western Australia, through an intensive and complicated separation process. It currently handles 11 of the 17 rare earths – a number that is increasing – with plans to expand even further to include ‘heavies’ such as yttrium and lutetium, used for lasers, medical imaging and cancer therapy. Lynas got the green light last month from the Malaysian government to process rare earths there for another 10 years.

Another Chinese auto brand is entering Malaysia
A luxury Chinese car brand, Hongqi, has signed an MoU with Quill Group, securing the exclusive rights as the official importer and CKD distributor for its entry into Malaysia. The company has set the middle of this year for its tentative entry into the Malaysian market. For those unfamiliar with the brand, Hongqi produces vehicles for state leaders and dignitaries, and our King is the first recipient of the second-generation L5. While BYD might exit the market, Hongqi may replace its position as the next Chinese brand to come and set up a CKD operation.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Samsung's bonus battle
Samsung Electronics is facing a massive internal unrest as 40,000 workers gathered at its Pyeongtaek campus to protest a widening pay gap with rival SK Hynix. The Samsung Electronics Labour Union, which now represents over 70% of the local workforce with 90,000 members, is threatening an 18-day strike starting May 21 if demands aren't met. The core of the drama lies in the bonuses - a Samsung staffer with a base pay of RM200k (KRW76 mil) expects a performance bonus of around RM100k, while their counterparts at SK Hynix are reportedly qualifying for more than triple that amount. This disparity has triggered a brain drain, with many employees jumping ship simply because the grass (and the wallet) is greener at Hynix.

Samsung is already playing catch-up in the AI chip race. While SK Hynix secured the early lead by supplying high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia, Samsung is desperate to prove its reliability. Management has offered to allocate 10% of operating profit for performance pay, but the union is holding out for 15% and the removal of a 50% bonus cap, a limit SK Hynix has already scrapped. A prolonged strike could disrupt global chip supplies and send prices soaring, which is the last thing Samsung needs while trying to reclaim its crown.

All out AI
Anthropic joins the trillion-dollar club
The AI arms race has reached a level of absurdity that makes the dot-com bubble look like a modest school project. Anthropic, the creator of the Claude AI assistant, has seen its valuation surge to a staggering USD1 tril (RM3.96 tril) on Forge Global, a leading private marketplace. This actually places Anthropic’s market valuation ahead of its main rival, OpenAI, which was valued at USD852 bil earlier this year. The demand is so feverish that traders are seeing shares snapped up within 24 hours of being listed, with some desperate buyers even offering to trade their actual houses for a slice of the company.

This sudden spike is largely driven by "Claude Code" momentum and revenue growth. While Anthropic’s last official funding round just three months ago valued it at USD380 bil, the secondary market is now seeing offers as high as USD1.15 tril. As Ken Sawyer of Saints Capital noted, the market is "absolutely wild," with OpenAI currently facing a "tepid" reception by comparison. It seems being an "Anthropic investor" has become the ultimate Silicon Valley status symbol.

Lawyers caught using AI to ‘hallucinate’ court cases
The legal world is having a bit of a "robot uprising" moment, but instead of Terminators, we just have very prestigious lawyers looking very silly. Sullivan & Cromwell, an elite Wall Street law firm, recently had to apologise to a federal judge after submitting a bankruptcy court filing in New York that was filled with AI-generated "hallucinations." The filing included three pages of errors, featuring about three dozen fake citations and imagined passages from real cases. The firm is currently representing high-profile clients like Donald Trump and was dealing with the Cambodian conglomerate Prince Group. In a profession where your entire reputation is built on being precise, getting caught with fake cases is embarrassing to say the least.

This isn’t the first time lawyers have tried to outsource their homework to a chatbot. Back in 2023, two Manhattan lawyers were fined USD5,000 (RM19,800) for a similar stunt. Sullivan & Cromwell actually has a policy for AI use, including a mandatory training course with the motto "trust nothing and verify everything", but it seems someone decided to skip the verification part. 

Trillion-dollar Anthropic explains why AI hallucinates and how to make your AI to hallucinate less. The reason sounds a lot like what most humans would do.

Microsoft’s AUD25 bil Aussie splurge
Microsoft is investing AUD25 bil (roughly RM72 bil) into Australia by 2029 to build data centres and train 3 mil people in AI skills. CEO Satya Nadella and PM Anthony Albanese are calling it a "game-changer" for national productivity. While the investment sounds huge, critics point out that for every AUD100 spent, up to AUD80 leaves Australia immediately because they don't actually manufacture the chips or servers locally. Plus, these "AI mega-factories" are notorious energy guzzlers that create very few permanent jobs.

CBA cuts another 119 jobs
Australia’s largest bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), is axeing 119 roles, adding to the 400 sackings announced just months ago. This latest round includes 43 positions at its Western Australian arm, Bankwest, with the Finance Sector Union (FSU) pointing out that even mobile lending managers, the actual humans helping you with home loans, are getting the boot. While CBA defends the move by saying they actually grew their total workforce by 2,500 people in FY2025, the morale on the ground isn’t great; 75% of staff are reportedly worried about job security. With NAB and ANZ also slashing thousands of roles recently, it seems the only thing "human" left in Aussie banking is the anxiety.

Shorts

1. Trump family crypto firm sued over alleged extortion

   The billionaire founder of TRON, Justin Sun, is suing Donald Trump’s crypto venture, World Liberty Financial (WLFI), claiming the firm is trying to "extort" him. Sun, who initially poured USD45 mil (RM178.36 mil) into the project, alleges that the company, co-founded by the US President and his son Eric Trump, has frozen his tokens and stripped him of voting rights. While Sun claims his holdings were once worth over USD1 bil, the WLFI token price has actually tanked from 31 cents to just under 8 cents since Sept. World Liberty has dismissed the lawsuit as "meritless.”

2. Xpeng’s flying cars and humanoid robots

   Xpeng is officially moving beyond basic tarmac travel, with plans to start delivering its modular "flying" cars by 2027. The Chinese EV maker has already bagged over 7,000 orders for the Land Aircraft Carrier, a six-wheeled van that carries a detachable two-person drone, while also eyeing the late 2026 launch of its humanoid robots. President Brian Gu expects these robots to eventually outsize their car business, serving as receptionists before taking over more complex life tasks. With a goal to hit 50% revenue from overseas markets within a decade, Xpeng is betting big that the future looks less like a highway and more like a scene from The Jetsons.

3. Lebanon and Israel talk face-to-face

   Lebanon and Israel are attempting a rare diplomatic dance in Washington to extend a 10-day ceasefire that kicked off last Friday. This meeting between ambassadors Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Yechiel Leiter marks only the second time the two nations have held direct talks in 30 years, aiming to halt a conflict that has already killed 2,300 people in Lebanon and displaced over 1 mil. While Israel demands the disarming of Hezbollah and maintains a 10km buffer zone in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has said that the group will not abide by any agreements made during the direct talks, which it opposes.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. The world’s largest trade fair, Canton Fair, is ongoing now in Guangzhou China and is held twice a year (spring and autumn) since 1957. Made in China today is no longer the subpar Made in China we knew last time. If you need product ideas for your business, check it out. There are 3 phases (i.e. different categories of goods). More info here.

2. Another very popular, as old as time, trade expo also in China - Shanghai International Adult Expo (Apr 17 - Apr 19). More info here.

3. Whilst we enjoy our weekend, take the time to appreciate the hard work and effort of those working 3D jobs (dirty, dangerous and difficult), for they make a large part of our weekends easier.